Display box



y 5, 1930. k. A. LAMBERT 1,770,618

' DISPLAY 50x Filed May 13, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

A TTORN EY S.

9 R. A. LAMBERT 1,770,618

DISPLAY BOX Filed May 15. 192'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/6.7 F/6.6 F g 5 30 2929 6 /6 6 25 i flmmezw 27 4 lk w L INVENTI'QR.

Maw

A TTORNEYS.

Patented July 15, 193i) nits STATES r'rsn'r Fries.

RUSSELL A. LAMBERT, or SPRINGFIELD, itassnonusnrrs, Ass -xenon 'roBROOKS BANK NOTE COMPANY, a CORPORATION or nassaonusnrrs DISPLAY BOXApplication filed May 13, 1527. Serial no; 191 205.

' This invention relates to an improved box, which is designed to serve,in the first instance, as a shipping container for merchandise and tothereafter be used by the merchant to display such merchandise on thecounter. V

The invention, in some of its aspects, provides improvements in thedisplay box disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 724,990,filed July 9, 1924. Some features of the invention, however, are capableof use in connection with other forms of display boxes and are notconfined to the particular form disclosed in said application.

The display boxof said application, as well as that disclosed-hereinasone illustra-- tive embodiment of the present invention, is of thatgeneral type in which two box sections, each having one open end,-arehingedly' connected so that they may be swung from a position, whereinthe 'twosections-lie one in continuation of the'other and'completelyenclose the articles, to a position wherein one section lies in front ofthe other and permits the article's contained therein to be displayed inan attractive fashion. The arrangementis such that the bases of the twobox sections, when moved to display position, lie in a common plane andafford a broad, flat, stable support, without necessitating easels,props and the like. The arrangement is also such that the back wall ofthe front box section box of said application. This arrangement enablesone section-to beremoved anddiS' carded; when empty, leaving the othersection serving as an independent unit and affording an attractivedisplay box unmarred by an empty attached section, as in the case of myprior display box. There are also severalother. advantages of thisconstruction which will later be set forth herein.

Another feature of the invention consists in the provision of means forholding these vent longitudinal separation of the two box units-and thisinvention is directed to simple means for overcoming the difficulty.This feature of the invention is equally applicable to other displayboxes having open ends which abut and interfit to form al shippingcontainer.

Anotherfeature of the invention consists in the provision of a flapwhich is connected to one box section and is adapted to be folded overupon and to extend across the base of the other box section and to beinterlocked with the latter, whereby the two sections may be positivelytied together when in display position. This flap functionsindependently of the box structure in the sense that it can be operatedwithout opening the bottom closure flaps of the box, as was necessary inmy prior ,1

display box. This feature of the invention is equally applicable toeither the prior 1' the present type of box and is independent ofwhether or not the two box sections are interengaged separate units orare integrally connected units formed from a single blank.

Other features of the invention will appear in the following descriptionand will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in

which I Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the display box withthe'sections thereof disposed in display position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of Fig. 1-;

- its F ige. 4 and 5 are top and bottom plan views, respectively, of thebox when the sections thereof are disposed in shipping position;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line Figsfl, 8,9, 10 and 11 aresmall scale perspectme views illustrating the manner of using the displabox; and

' Ft 12 is a si e elevational view showing a to disp ay-box of the typedisclosed in my prior zu closed lower end or base and an open 91? r a d-I he front wall 15 of section B is lower than itabaok wall 16 and is, ormay be, cut away asgpt 1.7, the better to display the articlesthexebehmd. The side walls 18 slope from g5 thgtop of the back wall downto the top of the wall but the upper ed es of the side wallsdo nbtnecessarily have to be straight asshown. .Theside walls 18 are integralwith so the back wall 16 and one of them is also iny with front wall 15.The other side wall 13 is joined to the front wall 15 by a flap 19. Thebottom closure is of common form and comprises short inwardly ex- 35tending side flaps 20 integral with and foldably connected one to thelower edge of each side wall and a flap 21 integral with and foldablynnected to the lower edge of front wall 15. p 21 has an n standing tab22 adapt- 0 ed toiextend vertica ly upward and tightly fit between theback wall 15 and the back edges of aideflaps 20. The unit A is similarlyconstructed and its front'lback, side and bottom walls are desig- 23 24,and 26, respectively. It is to be noted that the front wall 23 issubstan- 'tially equal in height to that of the back wall 16 and thatthe back wall 24 is higher than the front wall 23. The upper edges ofside wells 25, as shown, are straight and sloping but they may beotherwise formed for the primary consideration is only to have the upperedges of side walls 25 abut with the corresponding edges of side walls18 when the 5; sections are disposed in shipping position and wformpmouiplete enclosure for the articles.

The front wall 23 is preferably recessed as at 27, the better to displaythe goods therebehind and to make it easy to fill the boxor to noreniovb articles therefrom.

Th5 back walls 16 and 23 have parts 28 and 29, respectively which extendabove the level of we upper edges of their respective walls. Theextension 29 forms a display panel which niayme printed or lithographedwith advertisin matter and the upper edge of which may be cut to anattractive contour. The ex tension 28 may also serve to some extent fordisplay purposes, if desired. However, in the particular type of boxdisclosed, this extension is used primarily for another purpose which isclearly shown in Fig. 2. The extension 28 is foldable along the line 30and is adapted to be folded backwardly and into parallel relation withback wall 16 and to extend down intothe box unit A, lying between thefront wall 23 thereof and the front faces of the'articles C containedtherein. The extension or flap 28 is thus frictionally held in place.Due to this connection and the line of fold 30, the box sections may beswung, the one relatively to the other from closed or ship.- pingposition to open or display position in the same manner as disclosed inthe aforesaid application.

The box is shown in closed or shipping position in Figs. 4 to 6. In suchposition the two units are disposed one in continuation of the otherwith their open ends in abutment to form a complete enclosure for thearticles. It is to be noted that the extension 28 of box unit Bsfitswithin box unit A and that the diagonally o )posite extension 29 of boxunit A fits within it unit B. When these two units are first assembledfor shipping, the extension 28 has not been bent along line of fold 30and it is consequently a stiff extension lying in the same plane as thewall 16, to which it is attached, in the same manner as is extension 29.There are then two independent box units each having a stiff flapextension upstanding from one ofits side walls. The flap of each boxunit slides smoothly inside the other box unit when the two are broughtinto abutment. The two units are equally capable of 1 1" slidinglongitudinally out of engagement unless some means are provided toprevent.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I show, by way of illustrative example, one means forpreventing the difficulty 'ust alluded to. Such means consists of a flap31, which is or may be an integral extension of the part 28 and preferaby connected thereto for folding about a line of fold 32. Flap 31 isadapted to extend along the outer face of front wall 23 of box A to thebottom edge thereof and is interlocked with such box by means of a tab33 which enters a slot 34 formed in the tab 26' of the bottomclosureflap 26 of box A. Thus,

the two boxes are tied together so as to prevent separation thereof in alongitudinal direction, while being ship ed. The flap 31, by reason ofthe interloc ring of its tab 33 with bottom closure flap 26, also servesto hold the latter securely in place during shipment. Other means, laterto be described, serve to hold the bottom closure flap .26 of box A inplace in a somewhat similar manner.

When the container is to be used for disin so far as such swingingmovement is'cons cerned, and the flapis primarilynecessary to hold theboxes together during their ships ment. With the boxA standing on itsbase 26, and box B superposed thereon in inverted relation, as shown inFig. 7, one grasps the box B and swings it downwardly as indicated inFig. 8 about line of fold as anaxis until the two boxes occupy therelative positions shown in Fig. 9. The bases of the two boxes then liein the same plane and the back wall-16 of box B lies in contiguousrelation with the front wall 23 of box A as shownin Fig.2. In order tohold the parts in this relationship, a flap foldably connected to thelower edge of back wall 16 of boxB is provided. Flap 35, during shipmentof the container, lies across the bottom closure flap 21 of box B, asindicated in dotted lines in Fig.3, and as clearly shown in Fig. 6, theflap is held in such position by a tab 36 which is at that timeinsertedin a slit 37 formed in the bottom closure flap 21 at its hingeline connection with the lower edge of front wall 15. Flap 35 thenserves to hold flap 21 from opening during shipment of the container.hen the box I sections aremoved into display position, tab 36 iswithdrawn'from slit 37 and flap 35 is folded backwardly across thebottom closure flap 26 of box A into the position shown by full lines inFig. 3 and interlocked with box A by inserting the tab 35 in a slit 38.The latter is formed in bot toin closure flap 26 at its hinge linec0nnection with the lower edge; of back wall 24;

Thus, the two box sections may be tied together and held againstswinging movement whilein displayposition and this is effected withoutin any way disturbing either ofthe bottom closure flaps21 or 26- as isnecessary with my prior display box. The bottom closure flaps 21 and 26in order to best serve their intended purpose must be tightly held inplace and this makesit inconvenient to use either of themto do the workof flap 35. WVhile a skilled boxmaker will understand how to use flaps21 or 26 for the locking function and can readily do what is necessaryin order so to utilize them, the dealers who use these boxes are not soskillful and frequently do not understand what needs to be done eventhough proper directions are given on the box. If they do try towithdraw a bottom closure flap 21 or 26 theresult is often that thegoodsslide out and cause. 7 the dealer no end of trouble. It is then 1mportant not todisturb thefiaps 21 or 26 in order to lock the boxestogether andthe flap 35 overcomes all the difficultieswhich have beenencountered heretofore. The flap 35 may 'itselfoarry the necessaryprinted directions on that side thereof which is visible when its tab 36is inserted in slot 37, so that the operation necessary to interlock thetwo boxes. will be plainly apparent, As a matter. of :fact, thelocationand arrangement of flap 35 are such that the purpose of it isplainly apparent even to those who cannot read.

This same idea of an additional flapfor locking the two sections of the.displaybox together may be applied to a box of the'type disclosed inthe. aforesaid application, as has been indicated in Fig. 12. Here thetwo box units A and B are integral but connected to swing,-the onerelatively to the other, about line 29 as an axis. A flap 35 on one boxunit as A is adapted to underlie the base of the other box unit, as Band be interlocked therewith, as by a tab 36. According to some featuresof the invention, the locking flap, such as 35 or '35, is independent ofwhether the box units are integrally connected or are, separate unitsplaced in and display relationship above described. 'Whenthe'partsoccupydisplay position, as in Fig. 9, the box B contains one tier ofarticles, which may, however, comprise more than one row as shown. Inthe back box B are two tiers of articles and the articles of the uppertier are displayedat a level above those in box'A,'a fair part of thearticles in the upper tier of the back boxbeing visible abox e the backwall '16 of box B; The front wall 15 of the latter is cut away, as at17, to display as much as possible ofthe articles contained in box B. Asthe articles are sold off, the front box B eventually becomes empty. Toleave the empty box B in front of box A renders the displayunattractive, wherefore provision has been made to enable box B to beconveniently removed. To do this, box B is swung upwardly enoughtogain'access to'flap 31 and its tab 33is withdrawnfrom slot 34. Then boxB is lifted-and, as it is lifted, flap 28 is with drawn from the backbox B, as indicated in Fig. 10. This leaves the back box standing aloneand serving of itself as a unit display container, all as shown in Fig.1]. The'recess and if necessary to facilitate its removal. I

in Fig. 4, for a similar purpose.

By making the two box sections as sepa rate units, other advantages aresecured. Theextent and configuration of the display may also provideslots, such as shown at40 panlfl? can be varied without afl'ecting theextent andconfiguration of front wa1l-15. In the display box ofmy priorapplication, the "upper edge of the display panel 29 corin configurationto the upper edge of front-wall 15. These two ed s abutted 'whon thoboxes were disposed inshipping position. That box was formedfrom a aingle blankvand the two edges, referred to, a m formed at the same time bya single cut in the blank. To make the panel 29 higher meant makingfront wall correspondingly lower. With the present scheme, this iaavoided. The parts 29 and 15 are not a mutually dependent. They can anddo overlap, asshown in- Fig. 4, and may if-desired be of differentconfiguration as shown. with the prior one piece construction, theoverlapped glued scam in the front box'sec- 1|. tion had to come in itsback wall. This wall, boingin part visible above the articles C,ishsedfordisplay and it is therefore printed or lithographed. The seam,referred to, interfered with the printing and also with a the appearanceof the box. By making the box units separately, the seam can be locatedat one front corner, as shown at 19 in Fig. 1; and thereby renderedinconspicuous, leaving the back wall '16 as a one-piece. smooth, flatandunbroken member to carry the printmg. 1 1 -n'l'he invention has beendisclosed herein, in in embodiment at present preferred for illustrativep oses, but the scope of the invention is de ned by the appended claimsratherrthan by the foregoing description. What I claim is: a

1. A foldable cardboard display box, comprising, two box sections eachcomprising foldahly connected upright walls and a suitable closure wallfor one end of the box section,-tha other end of each box section beingopen, said sections beingvconnected together adjacent theiropen ends forrelative'swinging movement and movable into a position such that theylie in parallel and contiguous relation with their end closure wallsdisposed in the same plane, and means on one boxsection movable withoutdisturbing the relationship of said foldably connected walls toyengageand interlock with the other box 'Wl'mwhen said sections occupy saidposition-for holding said sections tied together insaidrelation. y g

2. A display box, comprising, two tubular box sections eaohopen atoneend and having at'the opposite end ahinged flap with a tab thereon orinsertion into the tubular box section to form an end closure, saidsections being-connected together adjacent their open qndkfor relativeswinging movement and movable into a position such that they lie inpnflllelandcontiguous relation with their end closure flaps disposed inthe same plane, and alocking flap hingedly connected to one box sectionon the side thereof opposite from that to which its end flap is hingedlyconnected and adapted when in one position to extend across said endflap, and when in another position to extend across the end flap of theother box section, said locking flap having a tab and each end flaphaving a slot near-its hinge line toreceive said tab.

3. A combined shipping and display box comprising, two boxeections eachconstructed of cardboard and each constructed so as to effectivelyretain and display articles contained therein; eachof said sectionshaving parallel front and back walls, connecting side walls and a bottomwall closing one end of the box section; the other end of each boxsection being open when the box sectionsare disposed in osition todisplay the articles, said sections ing hingedly connected so that theymay be moved from a position, wherein each side, front and back wall ofone section lies in continuation of the corresponding wall of the othersection and wherein the articles are completely enclosed, to a positionwherein one section is disposed in back of the other with the front wallof the back section and the back wall of the front section insubstantially contiguous relation, said contiguous walls being of equalheight but the back wall of theback section being of greater height andthe front wall of the front section being of'less height, wherebyarticlescontained in the front *sectionwill be visible above its lowfront wall and other articles in the back section will be visible aboveits low front wall, said sections being movable from display position toclosed position and vice versa without displacing the articles therein,said bottom wallswhen the box sections are in display position beinglocated in a common plane andforming a stable supporting base andtheonly supporting means for the box, and means independent of theaforesaid walls for connecting the box sections together and holdingthem together in parallel relation while-in display position.

4. A combined shipping and display box compr'isin two box sections eachconstructed of card oard and each constructed so as to effectivelyretain and display articles containedthereinyeach of said sectionshaving parallel front and back walls, connecting side walls and abottom'wall closing one end of the box section the other end of each boxsection being open when the box sections are disposed n position todisplay the articles, said sections a being hingedly connected so thatthey maybe moved from a position, wherein each side, front and back wallof one section liesin continuation of the correspond ing wall oftheother section and wherein the articles are completely enclosed, to aosition wherein one section-is disposed in bac of the other with thefront wall of the back section and the back wall of the front section insub- Wall of the back section being of greater height and the front Wallof the front section being of less height, whereby articles contained inthe front section will be visible above its low front Wall and otherarticles in the back section will be visible above its low front Wall,said sections being movablefrom display position to closed position andvice versa Without displacing the articles therein, said bottom WallsWhen the box sections are in display position being located in a commonplane and forming acstable supporting base and the only supporting meansfor the box, and a flap additional to and separate from the bottom Walland hingedly connected to one box section near the base thereof andhaving a tab adapted to be inserted into the other box section throughthe base thereof to tie the two sections together and hold them inparallel relation while in display position.

' 5. A container comprising a pair of boxes adapted to be disposed topto top as a closed shipping package or side by side as a dispensingpackage, a sheet extending from the edge of suchside of one box andfolding over the edge of such side of the other box to provide a hingingconnection between the boxes, and interengageable but convenientlydetachable means for holding said sheet and the last named box togetherindependently of the contents of the boxes;

In testimony WhereofjI have affixed niy

